Wacken Open Air 2009 was a huge disappointment for many metal fans. In 2008 the world's biggest heavy metal festival has booked Iron Maiden as headliners and has raised the bar a bit too high for its own good. In 2009, the 20th anniversary of this legendary festival, a lot of bands appeared which have played in the years before already, but no uber headliner a la Iron Maiden to justify the high ticket price. Many people blamed the W:O:A to rely on its name only as the 20th edition was sold out eight months prior to the festival. In 2010 however the Wacken Open Air proves all these critics wrong...

Iron Maiden are back again! And this time they aren't the uber headliners of 2008, but only primus inter pares ("first among equals"): thrash titans Slayer, glam metal monsters Mötley Crüe and the father of shock rock Alice Cooper are also confirmed as headliners for the 21st edition. And as always there are a few special performances: Grave Digger celebrate their 30th anniversary by performing the entire "Tunes of War" album, a show which will also feature some special guests, while Swedish gothic metal pioneers Tiamat will be performing their legendary "Wildhoney" album, 20 years after the band Treblinka mutated into the Tiamat we know today. But even if you don't care for either of these bands, Wacken once again offers a wide array of metal styles for almost everyone: black metal with Immortal and 1349, death metal with Cannibal Corpse and grindcore supergroup Lock Up, power metal with Kamelot and Stratovarius, heavy metal with U.D.O. and W.A.S.P., modern metal with Fear Factory and Soulfly, etc. etc. etc.. All in all a whopping 122 acts will perform on five stages over a period of four days.

Wacken Open Air takes plays in - surprise! - Wacken in Northern Germany, a small village with merely 2,000 inhabitants on 361 days of the year. The town is located 10 km north of Itzehoe and 50 km northwest of Hamburg. There will be shuttle buses from the festival site to the train station in Itzehoe as well as to the airports in Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen and Lübeck. For more info on getting there and away check the festival page here.

Certainly not the cheapest, but probably the most fun way to get to and from Wacken has to be the Metal Train. The "railway to hell" equals one huge party of 850 metalheads in one train with 16 wagons, which includes two dedicated disco wagons. Check the website for the schedule and prices.

The festival is officially sold out since April. Most tour operators (e.g. Metal Train for Germany, Bock Tours for the Netherlands, Germany, Austria or Switzerland, Argon Events for the UK) still have tickets in stock though.

Another way to acquire your ticket would be the ticket exchange in the official forum which aims for eliminating the black marketing going on eBay and reducing the risk of acquiring fake tickets. In this exchange the Wacken staff supervises the ticket prices and acts as trust which means that the seller sends the ticket(s) to the staff who verifies the authenticity of the ticket(s) and reports it to the buyer. After the buyer has transferred the money to the seller, the Wacken staff will pass on the ticket(s) to the buyer. More information on this model can be found here (in German).

And one of those is mine.
Although before the WOA 2009 I really had doubts as to how much I would actually enjoy the festival, it turned out to be just really great. Even though the lineup was nothing close to what other festivals had to offer this year. Only thing that keeps bothering me is the invasion of metalcore kids (let's call them that) who bring a certain aggression with them. You should really have come, Cathedral played a really enjoyable set

And one of those is mine.
Although before the WOA 2009 I really had doubts as to how much I would actually enjoy the festival, it turned out to be just really great. Even though the lineup was nothing close to what other festivals had to offer this year. Only thing that keeps bothering me is the invasion of metalcore kids (let's call them that) who bring a certain aggression with them. You should really have come, Cathedral played a really enjoyable set

I saw Cathedral play absolutely brilliantly at Roadburn last April which was reason for me not to wacth them at Hellest
And Wacken is way way way too big for me to enjoy. Hellfest is about the maximum number of people I can handle with 20,000 max a day.

And one of those is mine.
Although before the WOA 2009 I really had doubts as to how much I would actually enjoy the festival, it turned out to be just really great. Even though the lineup was nothing close to what other festivals had to offer this year. Only thing that keeps bothering me is the invasion of metalcore kids (let's call them that) who bring a certain aggression with them. You should really have come, Cathedral played a really enjoyable set

I saw Cathedral play absolutely brilliantly at Roadburn last April which was reason for me not to wacth them at Hellest
And Wacken is way way way too big for me to enjoy. Hellfest is about the maximum number of people I can handle with 20,000 max a day.

Yeah, the size of the thing starts to bother me too. This year it was already close to impossible to watch any band sittingly. But how could anyone say no to a festival that is so close one could spit there if the wind was good. Their forums (the german one although) is full of complaints about a great many aspect of this year's WOA. I sincerely hope they act on at least a few of those. Let's see.

Yeah, the size of the thing starts to bother me too. This year it was already close to impossible to watch any band sittingly. But how could anyone say no to a festival that is so close one could spit there if the wind was good. Their forums (the german one although) is full of complaints about a great many aspect of this year's WOA. I sincerely hope they act on at least a few of those. Let's see.

I think that if i lived around the corner I would go as well cause that would mean I could sleep at home and not at an annoying camping

I think that if i lived around the corner I would go as well cause that would mean I could sleep at home and not at an annoying camping

Are you kidding? Reserved campground with about 300 people each year. Since they moved the R campground to the side of the camp area there's about zero traffic there so apart from loud neighbors the whole thing is as peaceful as can be. Even the Romanian thief gangs didn't visit us. And we had a few cars open all the time with equipment from amplifierst to laptops, external drives and mobile phones in them.

I think that if i lived around the corner I would go as well cause that would mean I could sleep at home and not at an annoying camping

Are you kidding? Reserved campground with about 300 people each year. Since they moved the R campground to the side of the camp area there's about zero traffic there so apart from loud neighbors the whole thing is as peaceful as can be. Even the Romanian thief gangs didn't visit us. And we had a few cars open all the time with equipment from amplifierst to laptops, external drives and mobile phones in them.

And even then I hate campings. Just ask the people who were camping with me at Hellfest two years ago an this year

It's not the noise I hate it's how fucking uncomfortable camping is and the immensely dirty showers and toilets

Hm. Can't argue with that. But I enjoy that once a year. I do shower every morning though.

the showers IMO were ok, if you were a little careful you could have got out without getting too dirty, all in all not a low point of the festival for me..

Get out of the shower or onto the festival ground without getting dirty? Because on the first day the shower water was more rust than it was clean water. But that must only have been the pipes that haven't been used for a year. At least it improved the next few days. And I do make it a point to shower every morning. After you've gotten used to that you don't feel too comfortable without it anymore.

It's not the noise I hate it's how fucking uncomfortable camping is and the immensely dirty showers and toilets

Hm. Can't argue with that. But I enjoy that once a year. I do shower every morning though.

the showers IMO were ok, if you were a little careful you could have got out without getting too dirty, all in all not a low point of the festival for me..

Get out of the shower or onto the festival ground without getting dirty? Because on the first day the shower water was more rust than it was clean water. But that must only have been the pipes that haven't been used for a year. At least it improved the next few days. And I do make it a point to shower every morning. After you've gotten used to that you don't feel too comfortable without it anymore.

out of the showers without getting dirty hahhaha, the floors were really nasty there because of the people wearing their shoes there and shit.

The showers IMO were ok, if you were a little careful you could have got out without getting too dirty, all in all not a low point of the festival for me..

And surely your high point was your first taste of Jager! There are photos on Leckie's Facebook page of you drinking!

hahahahaha those photos are hilarious, and Jagermeister is awesome(not a very popular drink here and that's why i didn't try it, most people drink romanian wines/beers or homemade wine or plum brandy which will get you instantly shitfaced if you're not careful and is not at all expensive lol, sure some guys have refined tastes and stuff, but jager is so unknown here that only a few weeks ago i could have gotten one in a Carrefour hypermarket)

and i'm sorry to disappoint you but my festival all-time high point was Saxon

Amon Amarth's show, raising 19 euros by scavenging beer glasses and my first sip of Jagermeister come close but not by much

most people drink romanian wines/beers or homemade wine or plum brandy which will get you instantly shitfaced if you're not careful and is not at all expensive lol

You're talking about Tuica, I suppose? That stuff is awesome! Past weekend I offfered a Romanian guy a ride to Summer Breeze Festival and he brought me a bottle of Tuica in return. Holy moly, I've never drunk anything that gets you hammered that fast! The alcohol doesn't even reach your esophagus as it goes straight to the brain! Just in case we should meet again at next year's Wacken, please do me a favor and bring a bottle of that stuff along, will ya?

most people drink romanian wines/beers or homemade wine or plum brandy which will get you instantly shitfaced if you're not careful and is not at all expensive lol

You're talking about Tuica, I suppose? That stuff is awesome! Past weekend I offfered a Romanian guy a ride to Summer Breeze Festival and he brought me a bottle of Tuica in return. Holy moly, I've never drunk anything that gets you hammered that fast! The alcohol doesn't even reach your esophagus as it goes straight to the brain! Just in case we should meet again at next year's Wacken, please do me a favor and bring a bottle of that stuff along, will ya?

lol i'll try and bring some(though like i said most are homemade and are really different, some might taste good others bad), if he brought it in a plastic coca cola bottle or something it was definitely home-brewed...

most people drink romanian wines/beers or homemade wine or plum brandy which will get you instantly shitfaced if you're not careful and is not at all expensive lol

You're talking about Tuica, I suppose? That stuff is awesome! Past weekend I offfered a Romanian guy a ride to Summer Breeze Festival and he brought me a bottle of Tuica in return. Holy moly, I've never drunk anything that gets you hammered that fast! The alcohol doesn't even reach your esophagus as it goes straight to the brain! Just in case we should meet again at next year's Wacken, please do me a favor and bring a bottle of that stuff along, will ya?

lol i'll try and bring some(though like i said most are homemade and are really different, some might taste good others bad), if he brought it in a plastic coca cola bottle or something it was definitely home-brewed...

i'll trade you a 1 l bottle of Tuica for 1 l of Jagermeister hehhehe

I really would like to taste that Jagermeister. I think it would be better that the shit we call "beer" here at my country.

I think that if i lived around the corner I would go as well cause that would mean I could sleep at home and not at an annoying camping

Are you kidding? Reserved campground with about 300 people each year. Since they moved the R campground to the side of the camp area there's about zero traffic there so apart from loud neighbors the whole thing is as peaceful as can be. Even the Romanian thief gangs didn't visit us. And we had a few cars open all the time with equipment from amplifierst to laptops, external drives and mobile phones in them.

Romanian gang eh. hmm.
That somehow rings a bell.

Im not surprised they didn't come though, beeing cought stealing from a metalhead will most likely get half the festival on your ass. And thats a lot of people. lol
And i wish it to them aswell. I used to not be afraid at all to leave everything from my clothes to my 1000 euro camera in my tent. This year is the first year i left the thing at home to begin with. Because of all the warnings about these a-holes.

I think that if i lived around the corner I would go as well cause that would mean I could sleep at home and not at an annoying camping

Are you kidding? Reserved campground with about 300 people each year. Since they moved the R campground to the side of the camp area there's about zero traffic there so apart from loud neighbors the whole thing is as peaceful as can be. Even the Romanian thief gangs didn't visit us. And we had a few cars open all the time with equipment from amplifierst to laptops, external drives and mobile phones in them.

I think that if i lived around the corner I would go as well cause that would mean I could sleep at home and not at an annoying camping

Are you kidding? Reserved campground with about 300 people each year. Since they moved the R campground to the side of the camp area there's about zero traffic there so apart from loud neighbors the whole thing is as peaceful as can be. Even the Romanian thief gangs didn't visit us. And we had a few cars open all the time with equipment from amplifierst to laptops, external drives and mobile phones in them.

Gonna wait for the lineup, though it's a good chance there will be a MS Wacken meeting in 2010 and i'm gonna be in it hehehe seeing as it's a lot easier to reach than for example the Hellfest or Metal Camp festival sites. worked out a way of getting there for only 260 euros, which is a lot cheaper than what i paid this year(something like 430 in total), it was bad/late planning that made me give that much cash.

anyway CC and Immortal tickle my ears, this year's lineup was very good for me so i'm curious what next year could offer. my hopes are high for Priest, Iced Earth, Manowar, 3 Inches of Blood, Scorpions, Maiden and Blind Guardian.

Gonna wait for the lineup, though it's a good chance there will be a MS Wacken meeting in 2010 and i'm gonna be in it hehehe seeing as it's a lot easier to reach than for example the Hellfest or Metal Camp festival sites. worked out a way of getting there for only 260 euros, which is a lot cheaper than what i paid this year(something like 430 in total), it was bad/late planning that made me give that much cash.

anyway CC and Immortal tickle my ears, this year's lineup was very good for me so i'm curious what next year could offer. my hopes are high for Priest, Iced Earth, Manowar, 3 Inches of Blood, Scorpions, Maiden and Blind Guardian.

Manowar will never go to Wacken. And neither should we welcome them. They rather make their own festival as it seems. And since Germany is the only country where they actually have fans (not counting that one guy in Romania), it's already in stone that they will play the mcm festival once a year foreverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandnever.

I sincerely hope for both Bloodbath and Hypocrisy. So that Peter can sing the songs from Nightmares Made Flesh during the Bloodbath gig. That alone would be worth the whole festival for me.

Gonna wait for the lineup, though it's a good chance there will be a MS Wacken meeting in 2010 and i'm gonna be in it hehehe seeing as it's a lot easier to reach than for example the Hellfest or Metal Camp festival sites. worked out a way of getting there for only 260 euros, which is a lot cheaper than what i paid this year(something like 430 in total), it was bad/late planning that made me give that much cash.

anyway CC and Immortal tickle my ears, this year's lineup was very good for me so i'm curious what next year could offer. my hopes are high for Priest, Iced Earth, Manowar, 3 Inches of Blood, Scorpions, Maiden and Blind Guardian.

Manowar will never go to Wacken. And neither should we welcome them. They rather make their own festival as it seems. And since Germany is the only country where they actually have fans (not counting that one guy in Romania), it's already in stone that they will play the mcm festival once a year foreverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandnever.

I sincerely hope for both Bloodbath and Hypocrisy. So that Peter can sing the songs from Nightmares Made Flesh during the Bloodbath gig. That alone would be worth the whole festival for me.

LOL! i should have predicted a reply like this hahaah, you know that doesn't really exclude Bloodbath/Hypocrisy, it was just a thought hehe.

other bands i'd love: Mercyful Fate(though it's 0.01% they'll re-unite ), and any band from the big 4 of thrash(ALMOST got Anthrax this year, but they preferred to be drama queens rather than actually play music).

aside from that though, i was pretty annoyed this year at the huge amount of crowd surfers(first time i've ever seen crowd surfing, yeah it's not really a common thing back here), i'm glad i wasn't in the front row during Nevermore's "Born" hahaha, that shit was insane. anyway i don't like them because they just make you stop headbanging/enjoying the show for 5 seconds, then you try to resume doing that but you can't help but look behind every 10 seconds just to make sure no-one lands on your head. it sucks, and then you gotta move away from the stage to actually enjoy the show.

Gonna wait for the lineup, though it's a good chance there will be a MS Wacken meeting in 2010 and i'm gonna be in it hehehe seeing as it's a lot easier to reach than for example the Hellfest or Metal Camp festival sites. worked out a way of getting there for only 260 euros, which is a lot cheaper than what i paid this year(something like 430 in total), it was bad/late planning that made me give that much cash.

anyway CC and Immortal tickle my ears, this year's lineup was very good for me so i'm curious what next year could offer. my hopes are high for Priest, Iced Earth, Manowar, 3 Inches of Blood, Scorpions, Maiden and Blind Guardian.

Manowar will never go to Wacken. And neither should we welcome them. They rather make their own festival as it seems. And since Germany is the only country where they actually have fans (not counting that one guy in Romania), it's already in stone that they will play the mcm festival once a year foreverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandeverandnever.

I sincerely hope for both Bloodbath and Hypocrisy. So that Peter can sing the songs from Nightmares Made Flesh during the Bloodbath gig. That alone would be worth the whole festival for me.

LOL! i should have predicted a reply like this hahaah, you know that doesn't really exclude Bloodbath/Hypocrisy, it was just a thought hehe.

other bands i'd love: Mercyful Fate(though it's 0.01% they'll re-unite ), and any band from the big 4 of thrash(ALMOST got Anthrax this year, but they preferred to be drama queens rather than actually play music).

aside from that though, i was pretty annoyed this year at the huge amount of crowd surfers(first time i've ever seen crowd surfing, yeah it's not really a common thing back here), i'm glad i wasn't in the front row during Nevermore's "Born" hahaha, that shit was insane. anyway i don't like them because they just make you stop headbanging/enjoying the show for 5 seconds, then you try to resume doing that but you can't help but look behind every 10 seconds just to make sure no-one lands on your head. it sucks, and then you gotta move away from the stage to actually enjoy the show.

Yeah, or get knocked out by one of them and not enjoy Born at all
There's a ton of bands I'd love to see there. But in recent years the festival kinda moved away from what I'm interested in. Lets see what would tickle me: Age Of Silence (I think they've never played live at all), Arcturus (maybe in 2011), Blind Guardian, Candlemass, ChthoniC, Communic, Death Angel, Dissection (I know, right?), Emperor (why not reunite for another show?), Haggard, Kalisia (!), Kreator (might happen, new album), Mercenary, Ministry ( ), Nocturnal Rites, Opeth (unlikely in a year where Bloodbath are playing. Aaand since they are... ), Savage Circus, The Sins Of Thy Beloved, Trail Of Tears (one of the few bands I like that I've never had the chance to see), Vital Remains, Winds, Wintersun.

Yeah, or get knocked out by one of them and not enjoy Born at all
There's a ton of bands I'd love to see there. But in recent years the festival kinda moved away from what I'm interested in. Lets see what would tickle me: Age Of Silence (I think they've never played live at all), Arcturus (maybe in 2011), Blind Guardian, Candlemass, ChthoniC, Communic, Death Angel, Dissection (I know, right?), Emperor (why not reunite for another show?), Haggard, Kalisia (!), Kreator (might happen, new album), Mercenary, Ministry ( ), Nocturnal Rites, Opeth (unlikely in a year where Bloodbath are playing. Aaand since they are... ), Savage Circus, The Sins Of Thy Beloved, Trail Of Tears (one of the few bands I like that I've never had the chance to see), Vital Remains, Winds, Wintersun.

I ordered them alphabetically

yeah, i actually compiled a list of bands i'd want to see, so far Metal Camp is doing the best but it's by far the most expensive trip for me (around 300 euros or something at the very least), Wacken is second. who knows, maybe i'll raise enough cash to go to both(even find cash for Graspop/Summer Breeze , it's not impossible).

i wouldn't mind them re-hashing the 2007 lineup(though i don't really expect them to book In Flames again)

I wouldn't mind them re-hashing the 2007 lineup of Summer Breeze festival. Or the 2008 one. Or the one from 2009. But then again I wouldn't have enough time to get drunk and hang around with crazy Danes or Romanians

i wouldn't mind them re-hashing the 2007 lineup(though i don't really expect them to book In Flames again)

I wouldn't mind them re-hashing the 2007 lineup of Summer Breeze festival. Or the 2008 one. Or the one from 2009. But then again I wouldn't have enough time to get drunk and hang around with crazy Danes or Romanians

lol you really like SB huh? i'd agree with the 2008 lineup, Subway(yeah i'm one of those weirdos who isn't from Germany but likes them, even though i understand something like 1% of the lyrics), 3 Inches of Blood, Ensiferum, Primal Fear, plus next year's bands Immortal(nice twisted melodic black metal) and CC(epic fun)... good shit right thar. to be totally honest though, if Scorpions announce festival appearances next summer i'm gonna attend the German festival they're gonna book(and if there's more than one i'll just look at the rest of the bands). they are the no. 1 band i want to see PRONTO, apart from AC/DC but they're way too expensive. they even booked a show here around this time but they canceled plus i think there's gonna be some atmosphere knowing their (well-deserved) legend status in Germany.

also, i am thrilled by your charming adjective in refferance to my person

i wouldn't mind them re-hashing the 2007 lineup(though i don't really expect them to book In Flames again)

I wouldn't mind them re-hashing the 2007 lineup of Summer Breeze festival. Or the 2008 one. Or the one from 2009. But then again I wouldn't have enough time to get drunk and hang around with crazy Danes or Romanians

lol you really like SB huh? i'd agree with the 2008 lineup, Subway(yeah i'm one of those weirdos who isn't from Germany but likes them, even though i understand something like 1% of the lyrics), 3 Inches of Blood, Ensiferum, Primal Fear, plus next year's bands Immortal(nice twisted melodic black metal) and CC(epic fun)... good shit right thar. to be totally honest though, if Scorpions announce festival appearances next summer i'm gonna attend the German festival they're gonna book(and if there's more than one i'll just look at the rest of the bands). they are the no. 1 band i want to see PRONTO, apart from AC/DC but they're way too expensive. they even booked a show here around this time but they canceled plus i think there's gonna be some atmosphere knowing their (well-deserved) legend status in Germany.

also, i am thrilled by your charming adjective in refferance to my person

If you don't come to WOA next year I'll see to visiting you and kicking your ass! Also if they're rehashing lineups anyway, there's this band from 2006 I'd really love to see... aaargh, way too obvious. And did I mention Bloodbath yet? Also Valentin, your German is way better than you give it credit. I bet you're a little compliment skank eh?

If you don't come to WOA next year I'll see to visiting you and kicking your ass! Also if they're rehashing lineups anyway, there's this band from 2006 I'd really love to see... aaargh, way too obvious. And did I mention Bloodbath yet? Also Valentin, your German is way better than you give it credit. I bet you're a little compliment skank eh?

ah, sicher, sicher, (sicher = sure)

gonna try and improve my German until next year(ich finde mein Deutsch blod, schaize, dumm, und anderen adjektiven*), though my head is already spinning as i'm learning both Spanish and Italian too. i think i'll just drop out of either one of those(the one i'm not going on Erasmus in next year) and just enroll in a intermediates class for German. should work pretty fine.

i remember i bumped into some pretty crazy people this year, i remember on the the third night i was scavenging for beer glasses in the beer garden and i picked one up from the ground, and then two girls assaulted me(i think/hope they were drunk lol) trying to take it from me but they didn't succeed , and i have no idea why but my eyes suddenly felt like i spilled shampoo in them, so i just had to sit down somewhere for 5 minutes... later on i was doing some more scavenging when i see them sitting at a table with some friends, and they say to me in German "es gibt kein Brecher!"**, but then i see one on the ground, pick it up and say "ja, es gibt!"***, then they say it's theirs and whatever, they were acting very strangely, and after sitting there for one minute thinking WTF are they high on, one of them hands it to me and says "hier, wir schenken dir"**** o.O thankfully that's the last i saw of them
also on the very last night, hours after Subway To Sally ended the show, i wanted to bluff this drunk guy who was walking around with a tower with what must have been 15 red bull glasses, all worth 1 euro each, so i go up to him and say i was from a environmental organization and i can take them if he wanted, but he stutteringly says "nn-o.. i wan-na take these home..!!" lol he was so funny i wasn't even upset about "losing" 15 euros like that hahahahahhah

*ich finde mein Deutsch blod, schaize, dumm, und anderen adjektiven = i find my German bad, crappy, stupid and other adjectives
**there are no glasses!
***oh yes there are!
****here, we have a present for you!

i wouldn't mind them re-hashing the 2007 lineup(though i don't really expect them to book In Flames again)

I wouldn't mind them re-hashing the 2007 lineup of Summer Breeze festival. Or the 2008 one. Or the one from 2009. But then again I wouldn't have enough time to get drunk and hang around with crazy Danes or Romanians

Haha, I'm flattered. Yeah some confirmations would be nice. I would like to attend again in 2010, but the bands so far...meh

i wouldn't mind them re-hashing the 2007 lineup(though i don't really expect them to book In Flames again)

I wouldn't mind them re-hashing the 2007 lineup of Summer Breeze festival. Or the 2008 one. Or the one from 2009. But then again I wouldn't have enough time to get drunk and hang around with crazy Danes or Romanians

Haha, I'm flattered. Yeah some confirmations would be nice. I would like to attend again in 2010, but the bands so far...meh